Social Studies Electives II

Modern America

This elective is an exploration of the intersectionality of popular culture and historical events. The course examines movies, music, television, and sports to see whether or not popular culture reflects events or influences events. We explore the theory of comedy to understand sitcoms and see how their depiction of women changes with feminism, and we examine superheroes and how their heroism changes after 9/11. The course explores the role of race in sports, and the American Dream in the genres of both hip hop and country. Students in the class will see how CGI changes the storytelling of film, explore how current events are portrayed in film, argue about the Oscars and the Grammys award decisions, explore why and how the financial crisis of 2008 happened and draw connections between the presidential scandals of the past and present. If you want to be able to talk about America today, this is the class for you!

Holocaust and Human Behavior

This elective addresses the central question of why do genocides happen? Using the Holocaust as the stepping off point, students in this course will use Facing History and Ourselves’ national curriculum to explore issues relating to democracy, social justice, law and civic responsibility and how human behavior shapes them. This class is for students who want to wrestle with issues of morality as they apply to both international and individual interactions. Heavy on discussion and projects, this course is more like a seminar-style collegiate class, and is for students who are self-motivated, curious, and willing to share their views with the world.

International Studies

This research seminar builds off of USII and World History II to present a survey of the contemporary world and the relationships between its nation-states. Students in this course will survey the demographics, economics, governmental systems and major issues facing the world today. Students will explore how countries interact with each other through both hard and soft power, and through international government and non governmental organizations, like the WTO and the United Nations. If you are looking for a course to help you understand the world as it is today, this is the course for you!

A Military Perspective of World War II

The title of this course says it all. Beginning with an overview of the military aspect of World War II, students will then be able to choose which theater of battle they wish to explore to see the roles of the different branches of the military – Army, Navy and Marine Corps – as the war is fought. The class is both lecture and discussion based, and will provide students with an opportunity to see this war as both a strategic and human endeavor.